More than Just a Barber Shop: Blind Barber

A co-worker, having never been, described it as “a hipster barbershop.”

Vanity Fair's Mickey Stanley gets styled at the Blind Barber.

In truth, the Blind Barber,located on 10th Street between Avenues A and B, in the heart of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is a spot for dudes, maybe even bros, but chic ones.

The employees of this hybrid speakeasy bar–cum-barbershop are not extras from a Noah Baumbach film, nor are they intimidating mixologists in suspenders; these men, with passions for skateboarding, tank tops, snap-back hats, and physical fitness, have sidestepped the bespoke fussiness championed by other shops in the city. Today, the Blind Barber is an unequivocal success—with a second location in Los Angeles—that boasts week-long wait times for a cut and lines down the block to grab a drink. “I quit everything I knew to do this,” says Jeff Laub, 29, who, along with Adam Kirsch, 27, started the business three years ago.

"It’s crazy that it’s this busy now, and L.A. is becoming the same exact way. Now it’s slammed, and it’s bittersweet. Our goal is to have everyone experience what we’ve put together, because it’s not just a haircut, in and out.”

The barbershop front., Trisha Angeles

With overcrowding becoming an obstacle, the young men launched a successful men’s-grooming-product lineso that fans of the brand could remain styled between appointments. The sleekly packaged products include pomade (which won a Wallpaper-magazine Best Groom 2013 award), hair wax, shaving cream, aftershave, and candles, with a facial cleanser coming at the end of this month. “We haven’t had one return. Not one,” says Laub.

Blind Barber (212-228-2123) is located at 339 East 10th Street, New York City.